I want to take bio 171, chem 210/211, and intro to women’s gender studies, as well as UROP this fall. I want to finish my prereqs, so I can take most upper level classes sophomore year, and study for the MCAT the summer before junior year. I’m wondering if this is too much as a freshman? I know I will have to stay on top of my work.
Hello Anabelle,
First, thank you for asking the question! I personally think that your fall schedule looks challenging but also manageable at the same time for a freshman. Chem 210/211 and Bio 171 are both science-heavy class that does require a lot of effort. I would say that you won’t spend too much time studying them for the first few weeks, but as exams come through, you are going to spend at least 6-8 hours on each class outside of the lecture to study. Though I have not taken the Intro to women’s gender studies class, a lot of my friends did and the class is pretty manageable (it is described as “busy work” by my friends). For UROP, the workload for that highly depends on what project you will end up working on. It also depends on how many hours per week are you planning to spend on doing UROP. I would say given the rigor of the other classes that you are planning to take, it will be appropriate to do UROP around 6-8 hours per week (but again, that is just my suggestion).
In terms of your pre-med plan of taking the MCAT summer before your junior year, I will make sure that is possible by scheduling an appointment with a pre-med advisor. He/she can help you develop a course plan for the next three semesters in order to accomplish your goal. I hope my answer helps clear things up a little bit. Good luck with all of your classes this fall!
— PMH Advisor Haitong